A Brief History of the Vaccine – Autism Panic
Posted on February 23, 2009
David Gorski chronicles the past two years of scaremongering and irrationality incited by the famous-but-ignorant. From Andrew Wakefield to Jenny McCarthy to Oprah, Gorski discusses the baseless accusations that led parents away from important vaccinations (such as the MMR) out of fear of autism. He discusses the attempts by Steve Novella and himself, among others, to restore reason as vaccinations rates in the U.K. plummet and measles and mumps cases climb, taking lives along the way.
He notes that preventable diseases such as Hib are popping back up in the U.S., killing children and that the number of measles cases per year has DOUBLED.
This is SERIOUS stuff.
Brian Deer’s success at revealing how deep the well goes (uncovering Wakefield’s fraud), and a recent court ruling simply add to the evidence that has been mounting since the scare began. That evidence leads to one conclusion: VACCINES DO NOT CAUSE AUTISM.
I highly recommend this post. It’s long, but worth it. Bookmark it, and the next time someone says to you, “Oh, I don’t think children need to be vaccinated. Let them get the disease while they’re young. It’ll make them stronger later,” open up this post and give them the facts.
Thanks to the Bad Astronomer (Phil Plait) for drawing attention to this comprehensive piece.
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